Men are afraid of starting the wrong profession, and women are afraid of marrying the wrong man. The male and female protagonists of this story are exemplary, and they make a couple. They must learn from it. Ma Zhou was born in Yiping, Bozhou. Both his parents died and his family

Men are afraid of starting the wrong profession, and women are afraid of marrying the wrong man. The male and female protagonists of this story are exemplary, and they even make a couple. They must learn from it.

During the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, there was a minister named Ma Zhou . Don't think that he was prominent for generations and came from an eunuch family. In his early thirties, he was still a drunkard who everyone regarded as a swine.

Ma Zhou was born in Yiping, Bozhou. Both his parents died and his family was destitute. When he was in his thirties, he couldn't even feed himself, let alone a wife. But Ma Zhou has an advantage. He has been proficient in calligraphy and history since he was a child, and he is familiar with hundreds of schools of thought. How can he have thousands of books in his chest to bury the grass? Ma Zhou knew that knowledge can change destiny. So he seems to be ignorant, but he is actually a man with ambition and the world in mind.

Being poor and helpless, with a breeze on his sleeves, Ma Zhou is like a dragon trapped in a quagmire, a tiger trapped in a flat sun, but he also has a good drinker, and eating and drinking is a problem, and he inevitably sighs and feels depressed. Later, I saw who was inviting guests to a banquet. Ma Zhou came uninvited and showed no restraint when he came. He ate and drank in a big way. After drinking too much, he often went crazy with alcohol, crying, making trouble, and yelling, making the neighbors impatient. People called him "poor Ma Zhou" and "drunkard" behind his back. Ma Zhou knew about it and didn't care.

The governor of Bozhou Daxi heard that Ma Zhou was very famous, so he hired him as an assistant to see what his talents were. On the day he took office, all the scholars in the circle came to congratulate Ma Zhou with wine. Ma Zhou was so drunk that he didn't know where he was. The next day, the governor went to the academy in person to ask for advice. Ma Zhou was still drunk and had not gotten up yet. The governor was furious and walked away. After Ma Zhou sobered up and found out that the governor had come, he went to the state government office to plead guilty, but was scolded again by the governor. Despite the scolding, Ma Zhou could not change his habit of drinking. He was either drinking or on the way to drink. Every time he received his salary, he would buy wine to eat. Once when he was returning home after drinking too much, he stumbled all the way when the governor was passing by. The leader of the governor told him to get out of the way, but Ma Zhou refused and glared at him and cursed him. The governor got angry on the spot and scolded him again. The next day, his disciples advised him to go and apologize to the governor. Ma Zhou sighed and said: "I, Ma Zhou, am poor and helpless, and want to find a way to advance in society, so I often make myself grovel. Because of drinking, I was scolded by the governor many times, and I feel shameless." If I go to plead guilty again, this teaching assistant is not my ambition in life, so I might as well just say it and laugh to the sky, then go out.

Life is like this. You are often in a dilemma and cannot break out. Once you break the cage, you will jump out of the shoal like Ma Zhou and the dragon will enter the sea.

Ma Zhou went out and thought about Chang'an In the imperial capital, he heard that among the princes and ministers, there was Xiao Xiangguo who could recommend people, and Wei Wuwu who knew talents, so it was better to try his luck. Making up his mind, Ma Yiyi headed west to Chang'an. On this day, we arrived at Xinfeng. This Xinfeng has an origin that must be told. When Han Emperor Liu Bang raised an army to kill Qin and destroyed Xiang, and became the emperor of the Han Dynasty, he invited his old father to come and worship him as the supreme emperor. As time went by, the emperor began to miss the scenery and people in his hometown, so Emperor Gaozu asked skilled craftsmen to build a new one according to the old one. The houses in the market and the neighbors looked the same, and the old neighbors also moved in, and even Zhang There are many yellow dogs from the third family and chickens and ducks from the fourth family. When the Emperor went out, he saw that not only the neighbors were familiar with each other, but also the big dogs and puppies in the street all recognized Ah Huang and Wangcai. The Emperor was overjoyed and named the place Xinfeng.

When Ma Zhou arrived at Xinfeng, he saw that it was already getting late, so he went to the largest inn and went in. He saw the red dust billowing at the door and the constant flow of people. They were just merchants coming and going, checking in for accommodation, drinking and bragging, and the owner, the prince, was overwhelmed. There was a rush. When Ma Zhou saw that no one was greeting him, he felt dissatisfied and shouted: "My master likes to bully others. I've been sitting here for a long time and didn't come to greet him. What's the point?" The prince saw that he was anxious and hurried over. : "My guest, don't be angry. There are so many people over there, so I have to arrange for him first. You are a guest. It's easier to deal with. If you want any food or drinks, just tell the old man." Ma Zhou said: "It's been a long journey. I need to wash my feet first." The prince said, "The pot is inconvenient. It will take a while for the hot water to arrive." Ma Zhou said, "Then let's get some wine." The prince asked how much wine was coming, and Ma Zhou pointed to the guests at the next table. He said: “Just have as many as them."There were five people at the next table, each with a dou. The prince gave Ma Zhou five dou of wine. Ma Zhou said: "This wine is not enough to make me half drunk. "The prince served more dishes, and Ma Zhou acted as if no one was around. He started eating and drinking. After a while, he drank three measures of wine, asked for a footbath, poured the remaining wine into it, took off his shoes, and started washing his feet. When the guests next to him saw it, they all looked sideways and secretly marveled.

When he got up early the next day, Ma Zhou checked out and was running out of money. Thinking that the weather was getting hot, he took off his fox fur and pawned it for the prince. The prince saw his generosity and felt that the fox fur was too valuable, so he refused to take it. When Ma Zhou saw that he didn't want it, he wrote a poem:

The ancients felt that a thousand pieces of gold would be enough to throw away a pair of daggers and chopsticks. ? The most important thing is to know your friends.

I drink Xinfeng wine , and the fox fur is not worth it.

The hero is full of energy.

The prince saw the elegant style of his poems, and he respected him even more. When asked where he was going, Ma Zhou said he was going to Chang'an to seek fame. The prince said, "Mr. Ma will definitely become rich in the future. I have a niece who married into the family of Zhao Sanlang, who sells cakes on Wanshou Street. I write a letter and Mr. Ma can go and stay there first. Wouldn't it be more convenient? "After saying that, he took out one tael of silver and let Ma Zhou use it on the road. Ma Zhou couldn't retreat, so he took it away and said: "We will never forget each other if we make progress in the future!"

When we arrived in Chang'an, the atmosphere of the imperial capital was even more prosperous than Xinfeng. It's different. Ma Zhou inquired about Zhao Sanlang's house on Wanshou Street, and found out that Zhao Sanlang had passed away the year before last. The prince's nephew, the Queen, was a new widow. She was more than thirty years old, but she was very charming. People in Beijing called her a cake seller. . It is said that one day Yuan Tiangang passed by and was surprised and praised: "This woman's face is like a full moon, her lips are like red lotus, her roots are continuous, and her voice is clear, she is very noble!" She will be a first-class lady one day, so how can she sit here and sell cakes? "Later Yuan Tiangang talked about this matter in front of Chang He, the lieutenant general. Chang He knew Yuan Tiangang's ability, so he sent his family to Wang Lao's shop to buy cakes every day and wanted to marry her. Wang Lao just laughed and said nothing. .

This day, the king had a dream. She dreamed of a white horse coming from the east to her shop. He swallowed her cake in one gulp and got up to chase her. Unconsciously, she got on the horse's back and the white horse turned into a fire dragon and soared into the sky. Go. It happened that 天马 arrived this week, and she received a letter from her mother-in-law, Wang Gong, saying that a guest named Ma had arrived in Chang'an. When she saw Ma Zhou dressed in white, Wang's heart moved and she let him stay in the store. Ma Zhou took care of him three times a day without any hesitation.

As time went by, the neighbors saw a man living in the widow's shop, and they started to talk about it. Wang Yu discussed with Ma Zhou. He was asked to find another way to advance, but Ma Zhou had nowhere to go. On this day, Chang He's family came to buy cakes again. Wang Lao thought that since his family was a military general, he must have some scribes to help him, so she said, "I have a close relative." Ma Xiucai, a talented man, is looking for a hotel. I wonder if your master can use it? "I didn't expect that this would happen as soon as I said it. Chang He's family just lacked such a talent. It turns out that Emperor Taizong ordered officials above the fifth rank to think carefully and speak frankly about gains and losses, and no ghostwriter could do it. Chang He was overjoyed when he heard this. , It's like sending a pillow when he was dozing off.

Chang He saw that Ma Zhou was very ordinary, so he didn't dare to neglect it. The next day, he took twenty taels of platinum and ten pieces of colorful silk to Chang He's house. He told Ma Zhou about Taizong's request for advice and discussed the plan with Ma Zhou. You wrote it, right? Where to get it? Chang He then talked about his home guest Ma Zhou. Taizong said: "Where is Ma Zhou?" Come and see me quickly. "Huangmenguan took the imperial edict to Ma Zhou, but Ma Zhou was sleeping after drinking wine. He issued the imperial edict three times in a row. Chang He ran to call him and splashed cold water on his face. Ma Zhou was shocked and hurried in. Then he met Taizong. Taizong asked about his place of origin and immediately appointed him as the censor.

Chang He celebrated Ma Zhou in the evening and did not dare to keep him in the library after drinking. He planned to send him to live at Wang Ma's house. Zhou Dao: "This Wang lady is not a relative, but she was just staying overnight.Chang He was shocked and said, "Does the censor have any family members?" Ma Zhou said no. Chang He said: "Yuan Tiangang once told Wang that I have a noble wife. Since they are not relatives, it is a perfect match." How about I propose marriage for you? "Ma Zhou was also very grateful to Wang Lao and immediately agreed.

He went to court the next day. At that time, the Tatars Turks rebelled. Taizong asked for advice. Ma Zhou recited fluently, and every sentence was in Taizong's mind. Taizong was overjoyed and was promoted. Chang He was rewarded with a hundred pieces of silk for her recommendation. Wang Lao thought that Chang He wanted to marry her by force, so she hid away. Chang He sat in the shop and asked Wang Lao to tell her this. This time it was not for anything else but to marry Ma Geijian. After asking about it, she found out that Ma Geijian was Ma Zhou and he had become a high official. This dream of a white horse transforming into a dragon was fulfilled. This marriage was inevitable. , Wang Lao agreed. Chang He took the hundred silks given by Taizong as a betrothal gift, and rented an empty house for Ma Zhou to live in. On an auspicious day, Ma Zhou married Wang Lao, and hundreds of officials came to congratulate him. Extraordinary. The neighbors all admired Wang's wife for marrying Ma Zhou, saying that she was waiting for Ma Zhou because she refused to marry him.

After Taizong married Ma Zhou, he listened to all his words and followed all his advice. Within three years, Ma Zhou became the Minister of Rites, and Wang Yu became his wife. The prince, the owner of Xinfeng Store, heard that Ma Zhou was prosperous and came to Chang'an to see him. When he arrived at Wanshou Street, he didn't see the cake shop. He moved to another place. After asking around, he found out that his niece was a widow and had remarried to Shangshu Ma. The prince was surprised and delighted. He went to Shangshu's house and met Ma Zhou and his wife. They stayed there for a month. After saying goodbye and going back, Ma Zhou gave him a thousand pieces of gold as a gift, but the prince refused to accept it. Ma Zhou said: "The poem on the wall of the shop is still there, a meal worth a thousand pieces of gold, I dare not forget each other." "The prince accepted it and became a wealthy man in Xinfeng when he returned.

The original governor of Daxi, Ding You, kept his filial piety, and came to Beijing to replace his official position after his term was over. Hearing that Ma Zhou was the Minister of Rites, he had offended him, and he felt panicked. , Daxi didn't dare to go to replace the official. When Ma Zhou heard about this, he asked him to meet him again and again. Da Xi fell to the ground and confessed. Ma Zhou said: "The governor is a strict man. Ma Zhou's drunkenness and shouting were Ma Zhou's crime. What crime did the governor have? "The next day, Ma Zhou recommended Da Xi as Jing Zhao Yin and took office. Seeing his magnanimity, the officials in the capital praised him one after another. Ma Zhou and Wang Lao were rich and noble for life and lived together for hundreds of years.

From "poor Ma Zhou", he counterattacked and became the Minister of the Ministry of Rites. It only took Ma Zhou five or six years. Firstly, he met the Ming Lord, and secondly, Ma Zhou was really talented and knowledge could change his destiny. It was true that Wang Yu had been a widow for several years and was not tempted when she saw Zhonglang Jiang. A woman with a big heart. You must know that Yuan Tiangang said that she had the appearance of a first-class lady, which was given to Chang He. Wang Yu did not know this statement at first. The master is the author of "Tui Bei Diagram", which is said to predict major events in the next thousand years. At that time, he was deducing it, and suddenly someone pushed him from behind and interrupted it. The rest of the prediction could not be deduced anymore, so it was called "Tui Bei Diagram"